The practice of neurosurgery has been complicated over the last 25 years by the enactment of a series of statutes that have significantly altered the time-honored means by which neurosurgeons manage their work. These laws deal with issues that neurosurgeons have not customarily had to consider. The author outlines some of the socioeconomic and political matters that led to the passage of these statutes. An assortment of the laws is then surveyed, to foster an appreciation for the variety and depth of health care law that affects neurosurgeons' practice and the delivery of care to their patients. Statutes discussed include the fraud and abuse laws, self-referral laws, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act.